Clean Food secures £2.5m additional funding

Agronomics, a leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Clean Food Group Ltd ("Clean Food Group") has received a further £2.5 million in funding from Clean Growth Fund Management LLP ("Clean Growth Fund"). Clean Growth Fund is a climate-specific UK venture capital fund, providing UK cleantech entrepreneurs with the expertise and capital they need to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the climate crisis.

The funding will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of Clean Food Group's sustainable oils and fats technology. The proprietary technology platform uses proven, scalable yeast strains and fermentation technology and utilises food waste as its feedstock to deliver more sustainable alternatives to traditional oil and fat ingredients.

Clean Food Group's go-to-market product is an equivalent to high oleic palm oil, supported by an externally validated LCA (life-cycle assessment) which demonstrates a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases when compared with traditional palm oil. Clean Food Group's oil has been designed as a drop-in ingredient that can be substituted in several consumables, including baked goods, confectionery and cosmetics applications.

To date, Agronomics has invested a total of £1.6 million into Clean Food Group which is carried at £7.0 million, including an unrealised gain on cost of £5.4 million. This position accounts for approximately 4.2% of the last published Net Asset Value of Agronomics (31/12/23). Agronomics has an equity ownership of 27.4% on a fully diluted basis in Clean Food Group.

Beverley Gower-Jones OBE, Founder and Managing Partner of Clean Growth Fund said:

"Clean Food Group has an impressive team with a broad set of skills, and who established several significant industrial partnerships. Backed by a strong technical base, Alex Neves and his team are well placed to commercialise the manufacture of palm oil substitutes and therefore reduce the reliance the food industry has on the production of palm oil, an industry which is one of the main drivers of deforestation and a major contributor to global CO₂ emissions. We are very pleased to support CFG's development and growth."

Jim Mellon, Agronomics Executive Chairman commented:

"We are hugely pleased to be joined by Clean Growth Fund on the register of Clean Food Group. As specialist investors in climate technology, this investment is a real validation of the progress that Clean Food Group has made in recent years and reflects the quantifiable benefits of precision fermentation-derived fats and oils in addressing the ethical and environmental challenges associated with the industry."

About Clean Food Group:

Clean Food Group is founded by a team with key experience in growing biotech, food industry and retail businesses supported by established venture capital and family office investors with a track record supporting fast-growth start-up companies in highly regulated industries. Clean Food Group's proprietary technology platform has been developed as a result of 8 years of pioneering research by Professor Chris Chuck, technical lead at Clean Food Group and the University of Bath.